Start your business checklist

You’re ready to take the plunge to get your business going. Use our guidance and tools to help you through the phase of getting your business established - from finding and managing money to choosing premises and hiring staff.

Structure your business

Name your business

Register your business

Buy a business

Find money

Manage money

Choose your premises

Hire staff

Protect your business ideas

Latest events

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Importing - Steps You Need to Take Before Making Your Supplementary Declaration

HM Revenue & Customs, 03 December 2021

How Do I Complete My Online Tax Return When In Employment?

HM Revenue & Customs, 06 December 2021

Business support

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Go For It

Local council support to start a business

Explore Enterprise Programme

Unemployed support to start a business

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Business need Council area

Business sector Support type

Business stage Support organisation

Guides
- Find guides by sector
- Find guides by theme
  - Starting a business
    - Before you start your business
      - Considering starting a business
      - Start-up business ideas
    - Start your business
    - Running your start-up business
    - Grow your start-up business
      - Trade with other countries
      - Take steps to grow your business
  - Finance
    - Find local finance
      - Northern Ireland business support finder
    - Raising finance
    - Managing finance
    - Financial difficulty
      - Managing financial difficulty
  - Taxes
    - Business tax
    - Self-employed and tax
      - Setting up as self-employed and tax
      - Help and support for the self-employed
    - PAYE and payroll
      - PAYE and payroll for employers
    - Keeping records for business
      - Record-keeping
    - Excise duties
    - Industry-specific taxes
    - Complying with European law
    - Contact or deal with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
    - Companies House returns, accounts and other responsibilities
    - Business changes
      - Making changes to your business
    - Selling, closing or restarting your business
    - Accountants and tax advisers
  - Employment and skills
    - HR documents and templates
    - Recruitment
    - Employment documents and policies
      - Staff documents and employment policies
    - Pay, pensions and minimum wage
    - Manage people
    - Holidays, statutory leave and time off
      - Holiday, other leave and sickness
      - Maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave
    - Performance, training and development
    - Resolve conflict and staff leaving
      - Problems at work
      - Dismissals and staff leaving
  - Health and safety
    - Health and safety basics
      - Protecting your business
    - Health and safety made simple
    - Make your business safer
      - Managing the welfare of people
      - Safer ways of working
  - Efficiency and environment
    - Environmental action to improve your business
    - Reduce, reuse, recycle your business waste
    - Resource efficiency
    - Reducing your environmental impact
    - Environmental guidance by business sector
  - Business premises and rates
    - Choosing the right business property
    - Rates for non-domestic properties
      - Business rates
    - Property management and costs
    - Adapting and improving your property
      - Make your property more efficient
      - Disabled access and facilities in business premises
  - Innovation and R&D
    - Product and service development
      - Developing products and services
      - Research and development
    - Design and business innovation
      - Use innovation in your business
      - Design for business success
    - Intellectual property
      - Intellectual property for business
      - Patents, trade marks, copyright and design
  - Sales and marketing
    - Marketing your business
    - Know your customers
    - Maximise your sales
  - IT
    - IT basics
      - Introduction to IT
      - Choosing suppliers
    - Software and technology solutions
      - Software and business applications
      - Communications
    - Getting online
      - Create and manage a website
      - E-commerce
    - Security and data protection
      - Data protection and legal issues
      - IT security and risks
  - Exporting and importing
    - Basics of importing and exporting
    - Choosing a market
      - Doing business in the EU
      - Trading with countries outside the EU
    - Procedures and licences
    - Sector overviews and regulations
    - Moving your goods
    - Customs declarations
      - National Clearance Hub
  - Grow your business
    - Prepare for growth
      - Assessing current performance
      - Planning business growth
    - Strategies for growth
    - Finance and logistics
      - How to grow your business
      - Financing growth
    - Managing growth
      - Leading staff through growth
      - Manage business risks
  - Buy or sell a business
    - Acquiring a business
    - Selling your business
    - Exiting and transferring your business
      - Businesses in difficulty
      - Transferring your business
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